The Core Beliefs of Humanism
Humanism has two core beliefs, with two important implications. The core beliefs are:
* People should learn to think for themselves, not just blindly accept what they are told by figures of authority. This is because authority figures too often have an agenda of their own, frequently the enhancement of their own wealth or power. And even when this is not the case, authorities are themselves often uninformed or confused.
* Values are based in the human person. In order to know whether a given course of conduct is meaningful or right, we can ask ourselves whether it promotes the maintenance or development of the normal capabilities of human beings, such as thinking, feeling, and physical health.
The two important implications are:
* People should try hard to get the facts before forming opinions or commiting to values.
* People should base their values primarily upon the sacredness of life.
The idea that all people are much the same everywhere, and are equally entitled to justice and opportunity regardless of race or gender, owes much to Humanism.
Humanism and Religion
Humanism is a down-to-earth philosophical movement that represents a turn toward the satisfaction of human needs, both material and spiritual, and the fulfillment of human potential, here and now. Humanism therefore lacks much interest in the supernatural and theological, or in an afterlife.
This doesn't mean that Humanists are necessarily atheists. Though it may come as a shock to some, there are many religious Humanists. (Christians and Humanists alike would do well to keep in mind that there was a time when Christian thinkers like St. Thomas Aquinas consciously incorporated the humanism of Aristotle into Christianity, and that eminent Humanist thinkers like Erasmus were Christians.) Linking religious and secular humanists is the belief that nothing should be accepted on faith. There must always be good evidence for beliefs, religious or otherwise. This is the most fundamental tenet of rationalism. But nothing specific to Humanism precludes belief in God. Indeed, the controversy concerning the existence of God is far less relevant to values than ordinarily supposed.
